Three International Space Station crew members from Russia, Italy and the U.S. are on the verge of closing out a four-and-a-half month space flight, set for a parachute-and-rocket assisted touchdown in the Kazakh steppe on Thursday aboard their Soyuz MS-05 spacecraft.

A Russian Commander and Flight Engineers from the U.S. and Italy lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at sunset on Friday, riding a Soyuz FG rocket into orbit to embark on an express rendezvous with the International Space Station that took them to their orbital destination just over six hours after launch.

Russia’s Soyuz FG rocket rolled out to the historic Site 1/5 launch pad at the Baikonur on Wednesday, July 26 – emerging from its MIK integration facility at the traditional early morning for a ride over to the storied launch pad

The Soyuz MS-05 spacecraft completed final pre-launch processing steps as engineers remove protective covers from the three sections of the spacecraft before rotating the 7,200-Kilogram vehicle to a horizontal position for encapsulation in the protective launch shroud.

Soyuz MS-05 Commander Sergey Ryazansky and Flight Engineers Randy Bresnik and Paolo Nespoli along with their backups Aleksandr Misurkin, Norishiga Kanai and Mark Vande Hei complete the traditional pre-launch news conference in Moscow as well as the customary visit to Red Square before departing for the Baikonur Cosmodrome for final launch preparations.

The all-veteran crew of Soyuz MS-05, Commander Sergey Ryazansky and Flight Engineers Randy Bresnik and Paolo Nespoli, complete final exams for ISS and Soyuz operations in normal and contingency modes at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center to receive final clearance for a July 2017 liftoff to the International Space Station for a stay of four and a half months.

Soyuz MS-05 Commander Sergey Ryazansky and Flight Engineers Randy Bresnik and Paolo Nespoli along with their backups Aleksandr Misurkin, Norishiga Kanai and Mark Vande Hei complete the traditional pre-launch news conference in Moscow as well as the customary visit to Red Square before departing for the Baikonur Cosmodrome for final launch preparations.

The all-veteran crew of Soyuz MS-05, Commander Sergey Ryazansky and Flight Engineers Randy Bresnik and Paolo Nespoli, complete final exams for ISS and Soyuz operations in normal and contingency modes at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center to receive final clearance for a July 2017 liftoff to the International Space Station for a stay of four and a half months.